Talk:John Crawford

John Crawford III

The line about John Crawford III seems to be biased. Stating that he was African American was irrelevant, especially considering race is not mentioned elsewhere on the page, only nationality. Furthermore terms like "slain" and "toy gun" seem to be put in to drive a certain point, implying the shooting was wrong. To be unbiased the line should read "John Crawford III (1992-2014), man killed by police while holding a gun in a Walmart" or "John Crawford III (1992-2014), man killed by police while holding an air rifle in a Walmart" 98.28.193.244 (talk) 22:18, 29 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia is neutral but not racially color-blind. Race, the fact that John was African American, and the toy-rifle are defining aspects of the article on the Shooting of John Crawford III. They help in this disambiguation page to quickly identify this article and to differentiate it from other uses. If being African American were a defining characteristic of other articles linked to in this disambiguation page, then it should be added to them. (Wikipedia has extensive articles on Racism in general and Racism in the United States, Police brutality in the United States, etc.) Likewise, it is deeply misleading to write that John was "holding a gun." He was holding a toy -- picked up in the Toy Section of Walmart. To write that he was "holding a gun" would immediately place him in the category of those people armed in public with a lethal weapon, which he was not. These word-choices describe reality; there are several similar verbs that can be used to describe the homicide (to slay, kill, fatally shoot, etc.). Benefac (talk) 03:38, 30 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]

It was not a toy, under US law an air rifle is not a toy. The main article has since been altered to say air rifle, air rifle is what it should say, it was found in the sporting goods section as well, not the toy section. The way you have it worded does not serve to differentiate, but rather seeks to lead readers into thinking it was a racial killing (hence your initial usage of the word "slain" and your insistence on calling it a toy. 98.28.193.244 (talk) 02:09, 2 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Welcome to Wikipedia, IP User 98.28.193.244. I see that John Crawford is the first Wikipedia article you have edited, and you began 7 days ago (on 26 Dec 2014). Here are some links that you might find useful in editing: WP:WELCOME, WP:BIAS, WP:CSB, WP:Racism. In Wikipedia what matters is what WP:Reliable Sources have written about a topic (not what you or I might think or opine, nor our original research). Lets address these issues one at a time. First, regarding his ethnic identity. Virtually every reliable source about the Shooting of John Crawford III, including references in the article, mentions his ethnicity. This disambiguation page should follow this convention, to help readers quickly identify the relevant article. Benefac (talk) 06:11, 2 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

If he were white would it still be considered relevant? Adding race contributes nothing because there is no racial basis to the incident, so race is not a defining characteristic in the incident and should be omitted. Had this been a racially motivated or profiled shooting it would matter, but as it stands now it is as irrelevant as his height or hairstyle. 98.28.193.244 (talk) 07:18, 4 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]